System of gas control



One object of the' invention is to 'admit gaseous-fuel autmaticallyto the engine in- Patented June 25,1929,

PATENT oFFi-CE.

eHAaLEs 1*.'KETTERI-NQAND' WILLIAM A. eHaYsr, or DAYTON, omo, A'ssIeNoas ro nnLco-Lieiir coMPANY,or nAYToN, oriio,A 4coaiifomiiion orniimiiivAian. -1

sirsri'iiii Aor GAs'coNcrR'oL.'

' tOriginal application vieil Ffebruary 3, 1917,"Seriai No. 146,542. Divided and this application tiled J'uly 17, 'A

1924. VSerial No. 726,630. l

, -The presentv to fuel .con-

. trol systems :for internalcoinbustion engines- 'and particularly 4forV systems of. control. for gaseous fuel, vsuch as -natural gas.

v 5` This application is adivision of jour copendingapplication Serial No. 146,542, filed Y February 3, 1917, whichrhas maturedinto l Patent 'Na-'1,507,292 issued September 2,

take whenthe engine is in the process ofbeing started.,.

A.. further objeetisto the supply of .fuel automatically when thev lengine stops eitherfby-reasoniof control by an operator,

by reason of `the operation` of anv automatic stopping device,l or 4 by accident. such als, a`l` temporary 'discontinuance in the gas supply -lat1on of the invention to ignition and bator failureoftheignition apparatus to function, y In Aany event the dangerous escape and waste of gas .through thenngine is prevented.'

Oneni'anner of carrying. out these objects .I is to'provide .t-he-engineintake with a-valve,

5 normally closing said intake'when the engine is at rest, and to provide that when the 1gni.

tion apparatus is brought into operation at the sta'rtin of the engine vthis valve-will be automatica ly opened "and will-remain open substantially,continuouslyduring the operation of the engine, so that the fiow of gas intothe engine intake willrnot be affected by the operation. ofthe ignition system. Then it' is providedthat when the engine is stopped bythe ignition system'becoming inf olperative, 'this valve ".shall `autoi'natically c ose. i

In this coniiect-ioni'it .provided that'the tendency for the supply of gas to flow into the engine intake shallassist in closing the valveupon the stopping of the engine.

. .1' In carrying out the 'foregoing objects in connection with albattery'charging syst-em including an internal-combustion engine connected with a dynamo 'operable as a 'motor on n current from. a battery to .startthe engine or as a .generator to'charge the battery, it is preferably provided that the controller which connects the battery with the dynamo for engine starting purposes shall 'also connect the battery with the ignition apparatus and with an electrically-operated valve to open up the engine intake to the fuel supply.

Itis provided that theco'ntroller shall maintendency tain-these connections during'the generating' operation of the dynamo, but that the controller shall operate automaticallyV upon a u for .the battery to discharge through the dynamo, to break these connections to prevent battery discharge and the escape and waste-of fuel. l charge would tend to occur upon a certain -decreasein engine speed or upon failure of the dynamo to function properly at normal engine'speed.- L Further objects and advantages4 of the present invention will be apparent from the eo This battery disfollowing description, reference being had f to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred embodiment of one form of the present invention is .clearly illustrated.

In the drawings: I Figl is a wiring diagram showing'the retery charging circuits; and

Fig. 2 isadetail sectional View o f one form.

of valve mechanism'for embodying the present improvements.

2O designates a combined gas engine and electric/ unit of substantially the same type as that shown, described and claimed in-our 1)atciit No. 1,341,327, dated 'May 25, 1.920,

and our co-pending application Serial No. 120,098, filed September 14, 1916. The unit 2O includes engine 20a and dynamo 20". 1'- The present type of. engine, however, in-

-steadof operating on fuel such as gasoline,`

ofthis 4t'ypeis employed, thatthe flow thereof' to 'the engine be' automatically controlled. That is,'as s oonas it is` desired to bring the engine into operation, vthe viiow of gas should be readily permitted. However, it is. of

greater importance that'as soonas the engine ceases tooperate, either through bein stopped by anV attendant or byibeing stoppe inadvertently, the iiow of fectually. shut off and- The numeral 21 designates as a whole a Referring to the drawings, the numeral gas should be 4ef-vv prevented from escaping to the engine, which is then in a non- 'operative condition.

as at 25, and is adapted vto into, which the solenoid coil 26 may extend;

l f This coil 26 is covered bymeans of a hous-` ing 28, suitably secured to the casing 29,

by means of the screws 30, suitable openings being-formed at the top 4of the housing, Vin order to permit the entrance and exit of electric terminals, t'o connect the solenoid coil 26 with suitable circuit connections .described hereinafter.

A nozzle 27 extends through the housing- 28, Adown through the coil 26,'theA end of said nozzle projecting through the casing 29 and-communicatingl with the interior o said casing. This nozzle 27 is provided'with 'a shoulder 32, which v of the nozzle by abut- A limits the extent of downward movement ting against thewall of the casing 29. The

outer end of nozzle 27 may be connected with a suitable source of fuel gas supply by a pipe or other means. C oncentric with this nozzle, and adapted to slidably fit therein, is a core 33 provided with a reduced Vhead or valve portion 34. This valve portion 34 has a ground. fit with a valve-seat portion- FigL 2.

31 providedin the nozzle 27,-v which willv gas romwlre *l with contact 84. .W1re40f connects efectually prevent the passageof the nozzle to the mixing, chamber, Aat such times as the core is in the position shown-1n that the nozzle 27 supports It is apparent that the housing 28 assists the coil 2 6 and in support-ingthe nozzle 27.

' An extended end portion 35 of the `core through the; -open, end of the.

33 projects nozzle at-31 and throughthe opposite side of the casing 29 which acts Amixed with the air which is as al guide for the' core. The end portion 35 isthreaded to receive a nut 35a which serves' as astop to limit the upward movement ot the. core 33.l By changing-the position of nut 35, the amount of opening o-the gas valveinay In this manner e power plantmay be adj usted to varythe electricaloutput.

' 'As-has been stated above. A 26 has circuitconnections.- It will be seen that-as soon as the ignition circuit is closed bythe operation of the handle 37, the coil 26 will becomeenergized and thereby attract the core33 and raise thel same, so as to open the Iowerend'of the nozzle 27. atV 31 and permit gas to through the nozzle into the interior o `the mixing chamber. This gas will of course become "through the air inlet valve charge the speed of the engine. P

the solenoid coilv 22 and will then be sucked into the engine cylinder to form the fuel As has been clearly set Vforth our abovementioned eopending application, Serial No.

120,098, filed September 14, 1916, the handle f Y' 37 controls notonlysothe closing'of the igmtion circuit-,but a theoperation of the electric unit to start vthe engine.v

Fig. 1 shows the controller disclosed in the aforesaid 'a Vplicati'on for connecting the battery with t e dynamo, ing'thc'battery with the ignition Aapparatus and with the gas valve co1 as well as' for connect.

As disclosed in saida plication, andrefer.- i

ring to' Fig. .l, the ynamo 20b includes armature 70, shunt field 71 and series field and is connected by wire 7 3With batteryA 45, and bywire 7 4 with a spring contact; 7 5, whichl supports handle 37 but is insulated therefrom. yContact 75 normally engages Contact 76 which'is connected `by wire' 77 f with Contact 36. Contact 38 is connected '73. Series field 72iis 4connected by wire 87 with contact 76. Coil 41' is connected by contact 83 and wire 47 with contact '37'L and 38.

To start the engine, handle '37 is moved to separate contact 5 from contact' 76 whereupon the short vcircuit around series field` 72 will be broken, and to move contact 37* into engagement withl contacts 36 and .38, whereupon the dynamo 20b`will be connected with the battery 45 and will operate as a cumulative compound motor. At the same time the ignition devices 41, 43 andthe gas -valve coil 26 will be connected with the battery. Ignition for the engine will be rovided and the gas valve will'be opened.y After. the engine becomes self-operative and the dynamo generates -a voltage n'excess tif-battery voltage,the-magnet coils 7 8 and .85 act cumulatively to hold' the contact '37* in engagement with contacts 36 -and 3 8 in order to maintain the circuit connect the battery from the dynamo, from the ignition 4apparatus and from' the valve gas througli'the engine or mixer.

-casc of a substantial decrease inthe coil. When this' occursthe gas valve will close' autoi'natieally and prevent escape of the engine might occur in gas fuel s upplv and would -occur if the supplywcre cut oit entirely, as often happens in the case of the supply of natural gas. If, after the engine had stopped; and before the `engine could be started aga-in,` the gas should .come on again, there 'would be an escape of gas into the surrounding atmos ihere, which would be dangerous andvwaste ul were it not for the provision of meansfor automatically shutting off the supply of gas to the engine, as herein provided for. When the battery has been charged acertain amount t-lie ampere-hour-meter hand S2 causes the ignition circuit to be broken by separating ,contacts 88,84. The engine will stop for'lac'lc of ignition. Escape of gas Stopping of will7 be prevented by the operation of thel automatic gas valve as previously described.

permit Y gas It will be noted that these electrical con- .nections are' such that the'gas valve coil is controlled v'ndependently of the ignition timer. This arrangement is' advantageous in that the -gas valve remains continuously open during the operation of the' engine to to 'flow substantially` uninterrupted to the intake of the engine. gas is therefore present in the engine intake under substantially undimiiiished pressure lo be admitted to the cylinder at t-lie proper time.

While the embodiment herein shown and described constitutes a preferred embodiment of one form ofthe invention, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted'and various changes and alterations made in the shape, size 'and proportion of the elements therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In a fuel controlsystem, the combination with an internal `Aombustion engine; of a dynamo connected wit-h the engine; a storage battery; an electrically operated valve controlling the passageof engine fuel; manual means for connecting the battery with,

the dynamo and valve to' cause the dynamo to operate as a motor to crank the engine and to open the valve; means responsive to engine' operation for maintaining the con: nections between the dynamo, valve and bat- -tery and for automatically interrupting said connections in case of engine failure.

2. In a-fuel control system, the combination with an internal combustion engine having a fuel intake; of a valve controlling the passage of fuel to the intake; a starting device for the engine; ignition apparatus for the engine; means for causing the valve to open and the starting device to be operative;

through the fuel paatus for the The means for rendering the ignition inoperative; and means responsive to the operation of the last named means for permitting the valve'to close. Y

3. In a fuel control system, the combination Awith an internal combustion engine having a fuel intake; of a valve controlling the passage of fuel to the intake; a starting device fer the engine; electrical. ignition apengine; a switch including a. manually operable member for rendering the starting device operative; and electromagnetic means responsiveto engine operation for maintaining the switch closed; a current source; an electromagnet for holding the valve open; circuits closed by said switch for device and electroemagnet 'with the source for starting'the-engine, said control means including means responsive to 'engine operation for maintaining the 4circuit of the electro-magiiet closed, said last means being arranged to automatically disconnect the starting device and electro-magnet from the source in case ofengine failure.

5. In a fuel control system, the combination with an'internal-combustion engine having a fuel intake; of a valve for controlling4 the passage of fuel to the intake.; a starting device for the engine; a source of`current; and control means for connecting said starting device with the source for starting the engine,` said control means including means responsive to engine operation for maintaining the valve open2 said last means being arranged to automatically disconnect the starting device from the source and adapted to permit the valve to close in case of engine failure. l

6. In afuel control system, the combination with an internal-combustion engine having a fuel intake; of a valve controlling the -iassafre of fuel to the intake; a starting -device for the engine; a control circuit for the l engine; means for causing the valve to open and the starting device to be rendered operoperative; means for rendering the control circuit ino erative; and means responsive to the operation of the last-named means for permitting the valve to close. In testimony-'whereof We hereto alix our signatures.

j CHARLES F. KETTERING.

. WILLIAM A. CHRYST.

Native and the control circuit to be rendered 

